Berlioz, Hector

Berlioz - Les Troyens (remastered)

Berlioz - Les Troyens / Graham, Antonacci, Kunde, Tezier, Naouri, Pokupic, Gardiner, Chatelet Opera

Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Monteverdi Choir, Choeur du Théâtre du Châtelet and Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique in a landmark triple disc of Berlioz's towering opera, recorded in High Definition at Le Châtelet, Paris. A tragic tale of love and fate, war and peace and the intertwined destinies of two cities, the opera is based on Virgil's imperial vision of the founding myth of Rome. The American tenor Gregory Kunde as Aeneas and the Italian mezzo-soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci lead an international cast in this stunning new production.

Picture Format: 16:9 High Definition • Subtitles: GB, D, F, ES • Sound Format: LPCM Stereo, 5.1DTS Surround

Hector Berlioz - La Damnation de Faust / von Otter, Lewis, van Dam, Rose, CSO, Solti (1989)

La Bete Humaine - Criterion Collection

This 1938 adaptation of a rather schematic and melodramatic novel by Émile Zola wasn't a personal project for the writer-director, Jean Renoir, but he made it his own, and it retains the power to shock over 60 years after its original release. This was a star vehicle for working-class hero Jean Gabin that Renoir molded into something pungent and powerful, a story of a curse of brutality that has been handed down in a family from one generation to the next. (The codependent psychology, if not the mood of doomed determinism, may seem more timely than ever.) The working environment of the protagonist, the railroad mechanic Lantier (Gabin), is depicted with great precision; we can just about smell the coal smoke. And the sequences in which Lantier succumbs helplessly to his inherited inclinations are as terrifying as any of the famous murder passages in Hitchcock. For a man with such a high reputation for gentleness and tolerance, the cinema's great humanist was very good at violence: it's worth recalling that almost all of his major and many of his minor films pivot upon vividly imagined brutal crimes. Nothing human was alien to him, not even the pathology of this loathsome "human beast." --David Chute

Based on the classic Emile Zola novel Jean Renoir's La bete humaine was one of the legendary director's greatest popular successes tapping into the fatalism of a nation in despair. Jean Gabin's emblematic portrayal of doomed train engineer Jacques Lantier granted him a permanent place in the hearts of his countrymen. Part poetic realism part film noir the film is a hard-boiled and suspenseful journey into the tormented psyche of a workingman. SPECIAL FEATURES: New restored high-definition digital transfer of the original uncut version. Introduction to the film by Jean Renoir. New interview with director Peter Bogdanovich. Archival interviews with Renoir discussing his adaptation of Emile Zola's novels his process with actors and directing actress Simone Simon. Gallery of on-set photographs and theatrical posters. Theatrical trailer. New and improved English subtitle translation. A booklet featuring writings by film critic Geoffrey O'Brien historian Ginette Vincendeau and production designer Eugene Lourie.System Requirements:Features: New restored high-definition digital transfer of the original uncut version Introduction to the film by Jean Renoir New interview with director Peter Bogdanovich Archival interviews with Renoir discussing his adaptation of Emile Zola's novels his process with actors and directing actress Simone Simon Gallery of on-set photographs and theatrical posters Theatrical trailer New and improved English subtitle translation A booklet featuring writings by film critic Geoffrey O'Brien historian Ginette Vincendeau and production designer Eugene Lourie Running Time 100 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 037429173824 Manufacturer No: BET020

Sounds Magnificent (The Story of the Symphony) - Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique / Previn, RPO

In this fascinating series of films, "Sounds Magnificent: The Story of the Symphony," Andre Previn conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in some of the most popular works from the concert repertoire--symphonies by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. Each program is introduced by Andre Previn, who discusses the piece to be performed and the lives of the composers who created these masterpieces by giving illustrations of aspects of their music with a variety of orchestral excerpts. Image Entertainment is proud to bring you another in this series: Berlioz' "Symphonie Fantastique."

Berlioz Rediscovered (Dub Sub Ac3 Dol Dts)

A Musical Journey: Southern France

No Description Available.
Genre: Music Videos - Classical
Rating: NR
Release Date: 25-SEP-2007
Media Type: DVD

Berlioz - La Damnation de Faust / Cambreling, Kasarova, Groves, White, Salzburger Festspiele

The DVD cover art is ominous enough. What looks like the outside of a crumbling ancient Roman aqueduct dominates the stage, with a multitiered cylinder in front. Is this what the 1999 Salzburg Festival had in mind for poor old Faust in Hector Berlioz's involving and original "legend dramatique in four acts"? Apparently so. Stage directors Alex Olle and Carlos Padrissa's demented take on a work that has been variously staged or presented simply in concert form is so disastrous that it's actually worth a look. (In its defense, it's possible that this staging needed to be experienced in person, where its physical monumentality might have approximated the masterly score.)

Musically, this is a superlative performance: Paul Groves is a sympathetic Faust, Willard White is an appropriately menacing Mephistopheles, and Vesselina Kasarova is an exquisite Marguerite. Sylvain Cambreling sensitively conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin, and two excellent choirs' vocal contributions should not go unnoticed. (However, condolences to those choir members stuck in that ludicrous cylinder.) Both visual presentation and sound are, as usual for Arthaus Musik discs, first-rate; only the staging itself comes off as less than worthwhile. --Kevin Filipski

Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Historic Telecasts with George Szell (Mussorgsky / Beethoven / Berlioz / Mozart)

Featuring original footage of performances originally broadcast in 1961, this program of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by 20th-century heavyweight maestro George Szell is a pleasure to watch in more ways than one. Acting as a kind of time capsule, the program, consisting mostly of popular pieces by Beethoven, Berlioz, Mussorgsky, and Mozart, reminds us of an era when classical concerts were beamed into homes as regular Sunday-evening fare. Guest cellist Erica Morini commands a searing and stately performance through the Mozart Violin Concerto, but the star of the night here, of course, is Szell himself, and this release gives enthusiasts the opportunity at last to experience the conducting legend in as intimate a setting as is currently available. While the clarity of the picture often falls victim to the technology of the time--in some segments the black-and-white video could be described as flat-out blurry--the sound overall is surprisingly good. Rest assured, however, that any shortcomings in the quality of the 40-year old videotape is more than compensated by the chance to watch Szell in the twilight of his career conducting with such passion and virtuosity. --Karl Wachter

Bernstein in Paris: Berlioz Requiem

Leonard Bernstein conducts Berlioz's monumental work at the Chapel of St. Louis des Invalides in Paris before an audience including President Valéry Gisard d'Estaing. Soloist: Stuart Burrows, tenor. Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de France, Les Choeurs de Radio France.